Natural Nigerianhttp://naturalnigerian.com
Living as naturally as possible in NigeriaTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:09:42 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3Ask a Stylist – Heat & Your Hairhttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5396/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5396/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 07:30:17 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5396 Welcome, to a new series! One where we talk to actual hair stylists and get them to give us insider tips on how to maintain or attain healthy hair. I have teamed up with Nat. Mane of Deep, Brown & Kinks for this. She is the best hair stylist I know and I love her work […]

Welcome, to a new series! One where we talk to actual hair stylists and get them to give us insider tips on how to maintain or attain healthy hair. I have teamed up with Nat. Mane of Deep, Brown & Kinks for this. She is the best hair stylist I know and I love her work and how she pays attention to detail. I hope to do a lot more with her as the year goes on but we’ll start here.

today we deal with the question of heat and how it can be safely used in your hair. There is also an question covering alternatives to heat! Enjoy!

What can I do to protect my hair from heat?

To avoid heat damage, wash your hair of any product residue and follow up with a moisture treatment. Protecting the hair strands from direct heat using products that slow down the transfer of heat from the appliances (e.g hot iron) to our hair is another important step. My favourite is CHI silk infusion for hair and skin by Farouk Systems. (Insert chi silk infusion picture).

What precautions must I take to protect my hair from heat damage?

Always select a blow dryer and flat iron with multiple temperature settings. This allows you control how much heat is applied to your hair. Also, try not to use your appliances set at very high heat. It is better to spend a longer time drying your hair with lower temperatures than using too much heat for a shorter period of time. Bubble hair and moisture loss (causing dry brittle hair) are side effects of overheating. A safe way to blow dry your natural is MsAliciajames blow drying method.

What are the alternatives to heat?

One of the reasons we ladies with kinky hair use heat is to stretch out the kinks. Sewing thread or what we call “plaiting thread” in parts of Africa can be a good replacement for your blow dryers. Just take a section of hair, smooth it with your palms and fingers and then thread from the roots to the end. This can be done on dry and damp hair.

You can also opt for air drying your hair in braids or twists. While this might take a longer time, especially during rainy season, it is the safest way to dry natural hair. Please note that allowing tightly coiled natural hair get dry without threading, twisting or braiding can make it shrink and coil on itself causing knots and sometimes matting.

Hooded dryer OR blow dryer. Which is better?

In my opinion, hooded dryers are better at preventing damage than blow dryers. Although it takes a longer time to dry hair using hooded dryers, I get better results (softer and bouncier curls). Furthermore, with hooded dryers, manipulation is reduced but with blow dryers the hair has to be manipulated a lot in order for it to take the shape of the desired style.

With hooded dryers, diffused heat is used to dry the hair but with the blow dryer you have direct heat being concentrated on one section of the hair at time. If the blow dryer is not set at low, the heat coming out can cause drastic loss of moisture leading to dryness and probably raised cuticles, making your hair strands feel rough and look dull.

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5396/feed/6Naturals In The City 10 (NITC10) – Flyerhttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/naturals-city-10-nitc10-flyer/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/naturals-city-10-nitc10-flyer/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 14:18:19 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5327Hello beautifuls! It’s a sure thing. Come and be merry with The Kink and I, Carib Health and I at the tenth Naturals in The City meet-up! This time, our theme is ‘Making the Most of What You Have’. We’ll be talking about how to get the best out of your hair journey, by focusing on […]

It’s a sure thing. Come and be merry with The Kink and I, Carib Health and I at the tenth Naturals in The City meet-up! This time, our theme is ‘Making the Most of What You Have’. We’ll be talking about how to get the best out of your hair journey, by focusing on your hair’s features, the resources you have, and your lifestyle. No matter where you are or what you are doing right now, you can have the good, healthy hair you want.

In addition to the hair talk (with a twist), and vendors as usual for hair products, accessories & more, we will be having a product swap. Come with a gently used product (in good condition, not more than half of it gone) and you could go home with a different product (possibly your next best!) when you swap with someone else at the meet-up.

Just in case you don’t already know this, we love you the way you are. Relaxed, texlaxed, transitioning, kinky-curly-coily, weave or braids, come as you are. This is for all of us. Bring a friend or two! ^.^

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/naturals-city-10-nitc10-flyer/feed/95 ways to get more vegetables in your diethttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5-ways-get-vegetables-diet/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5-ways-get-vegetables-diet/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 11:41:59 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5364It has been said a million times that the Nigerian diet leans very heavily towards carbohydrates, even as the world moves away and eats less. While I am an advocate for not banning carbohydrates completely from our diets, I do have to agree that we need to #lesshandsmall and reduce the quantity we eat. This post […]

It has been said a million times that the Nigerian diet leans very heavily towards carbohydrates, even as the world moves away and eats less. While I am an advocate for not banning carbohydrates completely from our diets, I do have to agree that we need to #lesshandsmall and reduce the quantity we eat.

This post has a lot of Instagram pictures from several Nigerian Food Bloggers. Feel free to click the “Follow” button on any of the pictures below. You will find it on the top right hand side of the photo. Seriously, you need to follow for inspiration!

Best thing about vegetables, they are literally everywhere. If you live on the mainland, chances are that you’ve got these barrows coming through your street pretty frequently. On the Island, I find them parked at strategic street corners. While they don’t offer Ugu or ‘Green”, I find that they are quite loaded with veggies. You can make a pretty decent salad from most of the items on a barrow.

1. Be adventurous with the way you present food.

People eat with their eyes first, it is said. The presentation of food is as important as the taste. There is plenty inspiration on the web, like 9jafoodie’s Moi-Moi Roll Up. You get some vegetable with almost every bite and it is beautiful to behold.

2. Put it in pretty much everything you can get away with.

Growing up, my Auntie Julie would never cook a pot of tomato stew that didn’t have greens in it. None of your fancy green pepper and carrots for her, she by far preferred to have nchuanwu/effirin (scent leaves) in her stew. I think Ugu went in as well sometimes. Most importantly, she would never overcook her vegetables so that they not only retained flavor, but also held on to most of their nutrients. The less cooked your vegetables are, the more nutrients you get.

Oladunni of Dooney’s Kitchen actually came up with something called Ebbage which is part Spinach, small part Garri and part….you guessed it…cabbage! She has inspired many variations, though, with all sorts of vegetables used. #mindblown.

5. Blend it, baby!

Seriously, the number of vegetables that can be thrown in a blender with fruits is ridiculous. Green, a bit of Nchuanwu, Garden Egg, Garden egg leaves, Cabbage, Cucumber, Carrots, the list is much much longer.

Remember my Brveille Blendactive from this post? You can start with a smoothie maker that smaller or take it all the way to a Vitamix.

That’s it folks. Please share how you have been able to put more veggies in your meals and don’t forget to follow all these amazing bloggers.

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/5-ways-get-vegetables-diet/feed/0Valentine Day 2015 Giveaway – Winnerhttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/valentine-day-2015-giveaway-winner/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/valentine-day-2015-giveaway-winner/#commentsMon, 23 Feb 2015 07:30:32 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5355Our Valentine day’s giveaway winner is Ogechi O. Yay!! She was contacted on Valentines day and has since used her N10000 voucher! Congratulations, Ogechi! I would like to thanks everyone that participated and assure you that there will be more giveaways soon. Please stay tuned!

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/valentine-day-2015-giveaway-winner/feed/3Products I love – February 2015http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/products-love-february-2015/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/products-love-february-2015/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 07:56:25 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5281I tried to get a series started last year on my favourite new products but guess what? I really don’t buy that many new products so I wasn’t able to keep up with it. This year, I am still determined to bring you what I can, when I can. No pressure on myself, lol! In […]

I tried to get a series started last year on my favourite new products but guess what? I really don’t buy that many new products so I wasn’t able to keep up with it.

This year, I am still determined to bring you what I can, when I can. No pressure on myself, lol!

In no particular order, these are the products that have found their way to my heart and home recently.

Breville Blend Active

I announced my purchase of the Breville Blend Active, a few months ago, on my instagram page (follow me there to get in on my gist early!). A lot of you may know that I already have a Vitamix (I also mention it here and here) and may wonder when I decided to get another blender for my smoothies.

The Vitamix is about 2 horsepower and draws as much energy as most home air conditioners. With the constant power outages, my small power generators are unable to supply enough power for me to make a smoothie on demand.

I travel A LOT and the Vitamix is very far from travel friendly.

So my new needs were

A portable smoothie maker

A power friendly one.

I looked at Nigerian stores for something that would meet my needs. Everything I saw was big, like the traditional blenders and not at all portable so I looked outside our shores.

My first choice was a Nutri bullet, since I had used one every single day while on summer holiday and liked it. I could have bought one in America for $99 but declined to do so because of the 110v vs 220v disparity we have. I was not ready to lug a transformer around with the equipment because I knew I would have to travel with it. So, I checked for a Nutribullet in the UK. It was £99. No way was I willing to pay that much so I dropped the Nutribullet idea.

By happenstance, a lady on Instagram posted a picture of her smoothie maker (the Breville BlendActive) at about the same time, so I read up on it, read the reviews and bought it at £34.99. At the time, that came to about N10,000. (Those good ol’days when the naira had more value…just 2 months ago, lol!) I bought the family blender which came with 4 bottles. However, there is a single one which comes with just 1 bottle. This costs £29.99.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Yes! Most definitely. While it does not give me the very smooth smoothie the Vitamix does, the output is still pretty good.

Celestial Seasoning Peppermint tea

I have been a tea drinker for many years now. I went through a phase where I drank a variety of fruit teas, exclusively, for many years and have now settled on peppermint tea, again almost exclusively. Peppermint tea, is far from being just a flavorful, minty drink. It helps with

Indigestion

Boosts the immune system

Relieving Stress

Freshening Breath

Weight Loss

…………..and lots more!

You can purchase tea bags at Spar or even make a tea with the fresh leaves. Peppermint is easy to plant and care for.

Kensignton Auto/Air Power Inverter with USB Ports

I was at a book reading many years ago where a writer, Eghosa Imasuen complained that one of the main challenges he faced was constant electric supply. As a blogger, I can relate. While I have moved to Macbook from PC and now enjoy even longer battery power, even that power runs out after a while.

Also, in Lagos, we spend a loooot of time in traffic. I don’t drive myself 95% of the time so I actually work while I am in my car. It made sense to elongate my work time while in the car by getting a car charger.

I was scared of getting something that would damage my Mac (I had heard horror stories about how car chargers have damaged phones) so I waited until I was abroad to get a recommendation directly from the folks at the Apple Store. Turned out that they carried just the item I was looking for. Best thing was that it also came with two USB Ports so now, I charge my Macbook and my phones or even my wifi router in my car.

Even if you don’t work out of your car like I do, this can come in helpful so you always arrive at your destination – work or home with fully charged devices. This does not work for the Macbook alone. As long as your charger can be plugged it, you are in business. You can also get a travel adapter so that you are able to use it with the standard Nigerian plugs.

This charger changed my life….

And there you have it! The items I have enjoyed using these last few months.

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/products-love-february-2015/feed/6Formula Botanica Nigerian Skincare class FAQhttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/formula-botanica-nigerian-skincare-class-faq/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/formula-botanica-nigerian-skincare-class-faq/#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 07:30:38 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5267Since announcing the Formula Botanica Skincare class in Nigeria, I have received several mails about the training in March and I would like to take a minute to do a post about it, that way most people can get their answers right off the blog. Is it really possible to teach all the essentials in one […]

Is it really possible to teach all the essentials in one day?

Even if it were, I doubt that it is possible to learn it all in one day. So what will you learn?

You will learn the basics of lotion/cream making, serum making,

We will explain why certain ingredients work in certain formulas and why others do not.

You will be led on a general guide on how to choose ingredients for the different formulations.

Is it a strictly theoretical training or are we going to attempt to actually make anything?

It is a class where you will definitely be getting your hands dirty (so to speak). Expect to make at least one product each under these categories:

Facial Moisturizer

Facial Serum

Facial Cleanser

Face Mask

Facial Mist

You will also get to take each product you make home, to try on yourself! How exciting is that?!!

What about hair care products?

This particular class is for anti-ageing products only. However, we will be organizing several more classes, one of which may cover hair care products. Stay tuned!

How much does the class cost?

N40000, fully payable before the date.

What does the training cost cover?

The training cost covers the actual training, all the materials you will use and a light lunch. I have received enquiries for people coming from out of town, asking if they will be accommodated. We will not be doing this but there are several hotels near the venue. This is a good resource. I have adjusted it to show hotels in Victoria Island. You can filter it further to suit your budget and to bring you even closer to the venue. Some hotels are within walking distance!

When can payment be made?

I would advise that it is made immediately. We are working strictly on a first pay, first served basis and will close payments one we reach our class size (just a little over 20). Please either email us (nn@naturalnigerian.com) or call us – 0909.213.2141 and we will provide you with bank account details for payment.

When is the deadline for making payment?

There is no deadline per se but once we reach our class size, we will no longer be accepting payments.

How do I know that you are really affiliated with Formula Botanica?

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/formula-botanica-nigerian-skincare-class-faq/feed/4Oh! The places we will go in 2015http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/oh-theplaces-we-will-go-in-2015/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/oh-theplaces-we-will-go-in-2015/#commentsWed, 11 Feb 2015 07:20:36 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5254This site has been up and running since 2011. That is like 10years in blog years, lol. In that time, we have brought you a great number of posts on hair and natural living in Nigeria. We have also brought the natural hair community together by co-hosting meet ups in Abuja, Lagos and Calabar. This year, […]

This site has been up and running since 2011. That is like 10years in blog years, lol. In that time, we have brought you a great number of posts on hair and natural living in Nigeria. We have also brought the natural hair community together by co-hosting meet ups in Abuja, Lagos and Calabar.

This year, the plan is to do even more!

We constantly get a lot of requests to partner with people around the country for meet ups, giveaways and even ads on our blog. This year, we are taking more people up on their offer. As an example, before the end of April, the 1st natural hair meet up will hold in Enugu, so save the month! Ibadan, Port-Harcourt….anywhere we find partners, we will go!

We are also going to have more sponsored posts and even rent some of the ad space on our sidebars (it will all be curated so that nothing that does not meet our stringent standards will make the cut).

Thank you for being with us so far and please, continue to join us for the ride because….oh! the places we will go together.

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/oh-theplaces-we-will-go-in-2015/feed/12Do children need sugar?http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/children-need-sugar/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/children-need-sugar/#commentsTue, 10 Feb 2015 07:34:37 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5180Last week, my friend sat across from me and said “It doesn’t matter if you give children sodas (a.k.a. minerals or soft drinks), as they sometimes need sugar to boost their energy levels”. I hear that a lot. Or variations of that kind of statement. The most ridiculous one has to be that ice-cream is […]

Last week, my friend sat across from me and said “It doesn’t matter if you give children sodas (a.k.a. minerals or soft drinks), as they sometimes need sugar to boost their energy levels”. I hear that a lot. Or variations of that kind of statement. The most ridiculous one has to be that ice-cream is a “healthy snack” because it at least contains milk.

High sugar intake in children has been liked to obesity which brings with it many many bad diseases. The recommended daily intake of sugar for a child is 12.5g. And with parents handing off sodas, fruit juices, biscuits and yes, ice-cream to children, it is almost always exceeded – on a daily basis.

If you have kitchen scales, I invite you to weigh out 12.5g of sugar and see for yourself how much it is. Now, note that this is supposed to be it for a day but EVERYTHING contains sugar these days – ketchup, peanut butter, biscuits, even some salad dressings. It becomes easy to see that on a daily basis the maximum recommended quantity is exceeded. The last thing you need is to add to this by casually supplying even more sugar through fruit juices in cartons, sodas or yes, so called “healthy” ice cream.

Children do not NEED casual sucrose from time to time. Fructose, which is found in fruit is a good enough source of sugar. As a matter of fact, even too much fructose is a bad, bad, bad idea!

Making healthy choices is something the majority of us as parents struggle with. Imagine if you could reduce or completely remove this struggle for your kids and give them a chance at a healthier life, wouldn’t you take it?

In an ideal world, we could absolutely cut out sugar and not ever indulge in any of these sugary treats. However, I know that that is difficult so my suggestion is that you begin cutting back a little at a time. E.g. no more juice packs for school, use Zobo sweetened with pineapple instead. If you have a baby, look at that as a clean slate. Never hand that baby any processed drinks, not even ribena. Don’t put sugar in your child’s Ogi. That child will grow up drinking sugarless Ogi and enjoying it because you have trained his/her palate.

How do I know this works? I trained my own daughter like that. She only started eating the unhealthy things when she started school and started getting curious about what other children were eating. Now, I allow her to eat them very rarely. Just so that she doesn’t start begging other kids for their school lunches. Imagine if the other parents in the class only packed healthy meals for their kids? There are only benefits. No downsides. Start today. Your child will love you for it.

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/children-need-sugar/feed/12Natural Nigerian Bride – Sandeeyhttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/natural-nigerian-bride-sandeey/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/natural-nigerian-bride-sandeey/#commentsTue, 03 Feb 2015 15:26:39 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5208Sandeey is a natural hair blogger who has been featured on our blog before. She got married recently (whoop!! whoop!!) and we have pictures form her big day. Enjoy! You sported a fantastic natural hairstyle. Why did you decide not to hide your natural hair for the special day? What made you so confident? Thank […]

Sandeey is a natural hair blogger who has been featured on our blog before. She got married recently (whoop!! whoop!!) and we have pictures form her big day. Enjoy!

You sported a fantastic natural hairstyle. Why did you decide not to hide your natural hair for the special day? What made you so confident?

Thank you! I always knew I was going to rock my natural hair for my wedding day because I love natural hair, especially mine. I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t rock it, a lot of family and friends would have been in shock. I don’t even know when last I did not wear my natural hair out. Before the wedding, people kept asking me what I would do to my hair and I just told them that whatever I do, it will definitely be with my natural hair. I guess now my wedding is over, people who asked me in the past whether I would use a relaxer for my wedding day no longer need to ask me that silly question anymore. I’m always confident with my natural hair, even on bad hair days. So it just felt normal for me. Also, my husband loves my natural hair and encourages me, so that is always a confidence booster.

What would you advice other Natural Nigerians to do if they wanted to rock their natural hair for the big day?

My advice to other Natural Nigerians would be to make sure they have a style in mind before the big day. They could also practice from time to time. I had already researched online and practised my wedding hairstyle in the past and knew what I wanted. I even knew that my Little Divas would rock the same hair with me so their mum and I looked through YouTube for how to achieve the style for them.

Okay, let’s digress a bit and talk about you’re the fact that you had were your own stylist. Why did you decide not to go with a professional hair stylist?

Ah, people thought I was crazy when I said I would style my hair by myself. They were skeptical because its quite unheard of for the bride to even think of doing anything like that on her big day. What if something went wrong? What if the hairstyle did not turn out the way I wanted? etc. I did not go with a professional hair stylist because I wasn’t ready to pay someone whom I would have to teach. Since I already knew the style, I would have had to teach the professional what to do. Also, I have been my own professional hair stylist for years, so why not hire myself?

How did you prep your hair and achieve your look?

I actually began prepping my hair on the Thursday before my wedding on Saturday. I washed and deep conditioned my hair, and then used an airstyler to stretch my hair (that took hours!). After, I put my hair in twists to keep it stretched for Saturday. On Saturday morning (wedding day), I took out the twists and with the help of two of my Ladies of Honour, combed out the hair. They were my eyes at the back and really helped me see the imperfections and this allowed me get the perfect style I wanted. It turned out to be better than I expected!

]]>http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/natural-nigerian-bride-sandeey/feed/14NITC10 – Lagos Natural Hair Meet Up – Save the Datehttp://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/nitc10-lagos-natural-hair-meet-save-date/
http://naturalnigerian.com/2015/02/nitc10-lagos-natural-hair-meet-save-date/#commentsMon, 02 Feb 2015 11:39:52 +0000http://naturalnigerian.com/?p=5195Folks, the time is here again! Ready to meet up and be all about natural hair and natural living? Save the date! Details coming up soon.